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You can't get an LS9 in a new Camaro from GM, but that's not stopping new car dealers! This one is called The Storm and is built by NeSmith Chevrolet in Georgia. Image: GMPP
We all know the stories from the legendary COPO days of the 1960’s. Chevy dealers like Yenko, Baldwin, and Nickey were ordering up new Camaros, Nova’s, and Chevelles from GM directly with 427s via the COPO (Central Office Production Order) Program, branding the cars with their own paint schemes and trim, and then selling them as dealer super cars. The COPO program was a backdoor route to get motors from the factory installed that were not on the factory option sheet.
"The Storm" Camaro from NeSmith Chevrolet with a Corvette ZR1 LS9.
Fast forward to today, and though the COPO program is long gone, dealer built “Super Camaros” are not! With new Camaros still selling like hotcakes a few dealers have decided to take a page out of an old book in building their own black label version of the Camaro, but this time they can’t order the hot engine direct from GM in the car.
They can, however, order up everything they wish from GM Performance Parts and build the hopped up Camaro themselves! Two such examples are the “The Storm” Camaro by NeSmith Chevrolet in Georgia, and the HTR-SS454 Camaro built by DeNooyer Chevrolet in New York with Redline Motorsports. Both cars feature something under the hood from GMPP that is not the factory LS3, and both cars are actually featured on the cover the the new GMPP catalog!
The HT-SS454 from DeNooyer Chevrolet with a GMPP LSX454.
The Storm Camaro from NeSmith features the supercharged Corvette ZR1 LS9. It cranks out nearly 700 horsepower (62 more than in stock ZR1 trim) and retains it’s dry sump oiling system. The extra power requires that the Camaro have higher strength axles, a tougher transmission, and huge six piston Bear brake calipers all the way around. The HTR-SS454 uses GM’s LSX454 engine and features fuel injection instead of carbs and LS7 cylinder heads. The combination cranks out 620 horsepower and 590 ft-lb of torque, and NeSmith added a Corvette ZR1 clutch, taller rear axle, and a few other pieces to handle the extra power. They also have a “weaker” LS7 powered Camaro called the HTR-600 with 600 horsepower.
So, when it’s all said and done, the COPO days may be over but the net result is the same; we get the option of something hotter from the dealer than stock, and are perhaps driving something that people will one day drool over the thought of owning in their collection. Well, more than they’re drooling now, that is!
The HT-SS454 from DeNooyer Chevrolet with a GMPP LSX454.
